All I Want For Christmas
by Lady Shockbox
Summary: Present for ZAFT Prime. The SDG and their allies go down to Neotopia on Christmas Eve for some ice skating fun. Meanwhile, Zapper Zaku stands on the sidelines admiring a certain cobalt mech. Christmas fanfic. Slash. Mentions of Mpreg. Oneshot.


Pff, this fanfic is _super_ late. ZAFT, I am wicked sorry for the delay! I meant to post it about three weeks ago, but then I started staying after school later for the play that my brother and I are in - _I'm No Medusa_ - and I would always be too tired to get online after we got home at night. Last night was our last preformance and I also got an acceptance letter from my choice college the other day too, so I wanted to use it as an excuse to celebrate and finally post this bugger. This was a fanfic trade with ZAFT Prime, and she wanted a Zapper/Grappler ficclet with a Christmas theme. Needless to say that I _fail_ for posting a Christmas fanfic in January, but meh. This story could be considered a side ficclet for my other series _Whispers in the Dark _that I neglected to actually post yet, but hopefully putting this up will give me an excuse to put it up for you guys to read. Any other updates and requests might be far in between until March, though. I have to bunker down and get my novel edited so that it can be published for my high school senior project presentation night. Other than that, please enjoy. I own nothing with the exception of the plot and a few mentioned OCs.

* * *

**I just want you for my own, more than you could ever know**

**Make my wish come true, all I want for Christmas is you**

_All I Want For Christmas Is You_ ~ Mariah Carey

**i**

"I swear," Zapper muttered out loud to himself. "This damn holiday just keeps getting weirder and weirder."

Then again, it also had to be taken into consideration the people around him who were celebrating it. Being a citizen in Neotopia's Axis Survivor Colony had done little for him when it actually came to understanding what the humans diligently referred to as the "holidays," although he had seen enough humans squabbling more than usual at that particular time of the year whenever he had to venture out of the shantytown colony's district walls. It was a strange practice, he thought. The organic meat sacks who the Super Dimensional Guard had sworn to protect the Dark Axis from seemed to turn from sickeningly peaceful to downright brutal when it came to swarming shopping marts and malls.

Of course, celebrating it with the Gundam Force was _always_ a strange experience.

It had been nearly five years since Commander Sazabi was discovered – _alive_ – inside of Blanc Base. Zapper had seen the entire story on the NNN – Neotopia News Network – and he himself ended up playing a pivotal role in what inevitably became branded as the biggest scandal of the decade. After Madnug was rescued from the spacebridge accident that would have sent him spiraling into the Dark Axis' past to become General Zeong's aide, the young Gundam began to receive memory flashes. What was particularly curious about the flashbacks was that they were from his life in the Dark Axis he had not been given the chance to even live through yet. Commander Stalemate Sazabi had been part of those dreams, but no one in the Gundam Force would tell him what it all meant because they were afraid he would discover what he was – or rather _would_ have – been. Naturally, Madnug went ahead to do some snooping on his own where no one else would help. He even went down to the Axis Survivor Colony to meet with Zapper and ask him about the mech he had been seeing in his dreams… although _that_ particular meeting had been cut rudely short when the Gundam Force stormed into his house to arrest Madnug for conspiracy. Ultimately, it was Captain Gundam who revealed to Madnug that Stalemate Sazabi was actually being kept in secret seclusion deep in the unused bowels of Blanc Base as a prisoner of war. Madnug ended up finding the commander of the _Magna Musai_ in deplorable condition barely clinging to life.

Not only did Madnug rescue him, but the clever Gundam went through the effort of calling up the Robots Rights Campaign. The RRC had been responsible for dealing with the Dark Axis survivors after the defeat of General Zeong and they worked closely with Zapper Zaku and Grappler Gouf when they sued the Gundam Force to surrender the bodies of Zakos cruelly slain during the Dark Axis invasion. They ended up winning that first lawsuit which rewarded them with over eighty-eight million dollars in damages, the dead Zakos, and all other related paraphernalia as an end result. The Gundam Force obliged, though they did not keep their word for very long. They counter-sued and the judge - this time corrupt - rewarded the Gundam Force with his favor despite the overwhelming evidence pit against them. The SDG was cited to no longer pay the full eighty-eight million – they stopped their payments at only _eight_ million – and all other charges against them were consequently dropped. It shook the RRC to its foundations. They had been in the dead middle of building the ASC – Axis Survivor Colony – when the announcement came, but only a fraction of the colony had been finished construction. As a result, the Zakos who lived in Neotopia were left to live in the filthy shantytown without heat or running water. The RRC had nearly gone bankrupt as well, but the rediscovery of Commander Sazabi saved them from completely shutting down. The Gundam Force was sued by the RRC once again for purposely withholding Commander Sazabi in spite of ethics laws. Things only got worse for the SDG when an actual investigation went underway, and Chief Haro was cited by the city to immediately surrender all documents to the Neotopia city council in order to determine if there were any _other_ illegal secrets that they had to hide. After months of probing, Chief Haro was forced to resign. Another court hearing later, the judge reinstated that the Gundam Force was to pay an additional one _hundred_ million dollars to the seventy-two million that had not been paid.

Except, now that five years had passed, things had gotten much more friendly between the Axians and the Gundams. Chief Halo – Shute Whiting – had taken over the SDG in Chief Haro's place and relations with the SDG and RRC flourished dramatically. The ASC was finally finished along with Neotopia's first Automaton Hospital made especially for the GMs and other mechanical citizens of Neotopia... including the Zakos, of course. Sazabi and Madnug became bondmates and the commander made a mostly full recovery from his ordeal as well.

Mostly.

The commander in question was gripping either side of the skating rink entryway. "_No_."

Five years and six months after Commander Sazabi was found, it was Christmas Eve. The residents of Blanc Base and their Dark Axis companions – ex-squadron leaders and the remaining crew of the _Magna Musai_ themselves – had finished decorating most of the SDG headquarters for the evening when Chief Halo called it a night and offered to take everyone to the skating rink that his wife and now mayor of Neotopia, Sayla Whiting, had rented out in the city square especially for them. Everyone was naturally excited – the Zakos _flipped_ at the thought of going out on the town and having some fun – except for Sazabi. No one talked about his imprisonment due to the emotional and physical trauma it had put the once feared commander through, but he devolved a fully blown out and irrational fear of water. He had been water boarded repeatedly during interrogations when the SDG took him prisoner, and the cell he spent nearly three years of his life in was filled with water. This had rotted a deeply instilled terror into him that no amount of therapy could hope to cure. Ultimately, when Captain made the mistake of telling Sazabi that skating involved ice and therefore frozen water, the commander refused to even step into the rink.

"Oh for the _love_ _of_…" Sparkplug – the GP-03, one of Madnug and Captain's other two brothers created after General Zeong's defeat – peered around Stalemate's shoulders and stared up at the larger mech with an irritated expression. His yellow eyes glowed in petulant impatience. "You're kidding, right?"

"No one said that this involved water," Sazabi said. There was an edge to his voice that made his tone raise to an unnaturally tense tone.

Zapper had to suppress the urge to laugh at the twin venomous glares that both Captain and Madnug shot Sparkplug. Both the GP-01 and GP-04 were protective of Sazabi for their own reasons – Captain because he wanted to atone for his past wrong in cruelly destroying the commander's souldrive, Madnug because he was the commander's lover – and the GP-03 immediately shrank back from their glares. Madnug turned his scornful stare away from his older red cast brother and looked up to Sazabi. "It's not water, Stalemate," he coaxed gently. "If ice and water were the same thing, then why would they give it a different name?"

This was a silly argument at best, although it seemed to slightly calm the commander's nerves. Sazabi went slightly lax and stopped gripping either side of the entryway gate in a death hold. Even from as far away as he stood, Zapper Zaku could clearly see that the metal was crushed with the indentations of his taut fingers.

Captain looked at his brother. "Wait, but isn't ice a form of water?" he asked. He seemed to realize his mistake when Sazabi immediately went rigid again. "Oops."

Commander Sazabi reeled backwards as if making to leave. "_That's it_. I'm _gone_. If anyone wants me, I'll be in the coffee shop with Nana and Destroyer Dom. _Good_bye."

Madnug's reaction was immediate. The white Gundam reached a hand out and touched Sazabi's with a quick, gentle movement. The young scientist quickly angled himself to get a better look at his mate's face, and both their gazes met. Sazabi was clearly distraught - Zapper had seen that stressed glow to the commander's pink optic many times even before Zeong ever assigned them to invade Neotopia, back when Sazabi had mountains of paperwork to fill out sitting on his desk in the _Magna Musai_ - but Madnug's calm demeanor seemed to rub off on him. Sazabi stopped trying to back out and Madnug was clearly smiling behind his faceplate. "Stalemate," he said coaxingly. "I'm right here with you. Besides, look at how much fun everyone is having."

And everyone else _was_ having fun, true to word. The Zakos had picked up how to skate surprisingly quickly and were busying themselves in small groups as they did laps around the rink. The _Zako Zako Hour_ hosts were especially enjoying themselves with weaving around the slightly bemused SDG human employees, although Blue was consistently slipping on the ice while Yellow and Red helped him along. Shute and Sayla - married in July - were bundled together and leisurely moving along the edge of the rink arm in arm like they were still newlyweds. Sparkplug had long since jumped the fence to get into the rink past Sazabi was doing laps around the rink haphazardly. Highline - the GP-02 Gundam, dye cast green in start contrast to Sparkplug's red - was slowly moving along behind and keeping an eye on his high-strung brother to make sure Sparkplug did not mow anyone over. A large portion of the SDG faculty and mechanical staff were also thoroughly enjoying themselves as well… although there was only one person on the ice who could have easily passed off as a professional skater.

Next to him, a little girl standing with an older woman gasped and pointed out toward the ice. With her other hand, she pulled on the sleeve of the larger human's petticoat. The little girl had billowing blonde curls and rosy cheeks. "Mommy! Mommy, look at _that_ one!"

As if on cue, the cobalt squadron leader in question managed to migrate his way back into Zapper's line of vision. Grappler was moving backwards on the ice in a fluid motion before suddenly kicking up into the air and performing a dazzling spin with his arms suspended carefully to maintain his balance. He stuck the landing on the ice with a sharp _clink_, swerving backward on one leg before using his other foot to lazily circle back into skating forward. Whereas the rest of the automatons on the ice - GMs, Axians, and Gundams alike - had cheap skating blades temporarily attached to the soles of their boots with weak titanium based glue, Grappler's skates were a separate attachment that he custom ordered back in September. He had been vague on the details at the time, although Zapper Zaku was now convinced that the other mech had been practicing to skate in secret. Why? Grappler Gouf's mind was too complex for him, he determined Grappler usually had a good reason for doing most of the things he did, and it certainly showed. Grappler preformed a sharp turn on the ice before he could hit the wall of the rink's fence, scraping the ice hard enough under his weight to send a spray of snowy dust scattering into the air like cold glitter. Cheap blades would have snapped in half under the pressure, although Grappler Gouf's expensively strong ones held firm. The cobalt blue mech suddenly pivoted, skated around the edge of the rink in an arching circle, before he kicked off into the air and thrust his grappling arm forward. This caused an imbalance on his left side and caused him to descend at an angle. Zapper heard the little girl standing not too far away gasp - it looked like Grappler was going to fall flat on his side at first - but the Axian angled his legs at the last second to catch the ice directly under his blades. He twisted his heels around to make a sharp one hundred and eighty degree turn on the ice, using his tilted angle to bring his claws down and scrap the ice in an intimidating pose before righting himself and continuing on with a composed demeanor.

Applause broke out from the crowd of spectators who had gathered around the rink to watch. Before Sayla won the election for mayor back in November, part of her campaigning strategy had been to work alongside with the SDG and RRC respectfully. Despite being a ditz and having the overall personality of a fruitcake, she was a surprisingly bright woman who utilized the growing relationship between the Gundams and Axians to her advantage. While her political rival had been adamantly unflinching on his negative views of the Dark Axis survivors, Sayla used his vices to her advantage by promoting peaceful relations between the public and the Axians that were once pit to destroy them. She was _always_ certain to express her positive views of the Axians, even going as far as to film all of her campaign advertisements with Zakos, Doga Bombers, and GMs coexisting peacefully in the background with her. At all the rallies her party hosted, she always had one of the SDG Gundams - most of the time it was Madnug - with either a Zako or Commander Sazabi himself with her on stage. Even when she went around to the elementary schools that invited her to talk to the children about how she was running for mayor, she always had Captain Gundam and Zapper Zaku with her. The first time she dragged him along with her had been slightly unnerving - the class of third graders Sayla had been talking looked at him the entire time with terror etched expressions - but after he started talking, the kids immediately warmed up to him when they realized he was not nearly as scary as he looked. They were honestly no different from the Zakos in regards to their mentality, and it was for that reason that Zapper Zaku ended up liking the trips. Regardless, the passive-aggressive campaigning style worked to Sayla's advantage perfectly. Her opponent fell heavily behind in the polls even _before_ the election was carried out, and she won with nearly eighty percent of the vote. Attitudes toward the Axians immediately changed for the better. The humans rarely ever berated or harassed them anymore.

Out of the corner of his vision, Zapper Zaku watched as the little girl excitedly tugged at the sleeve of her mother's petticoat. Her strawberry curls were bouncing on her shoulders as she stood up on her tiptoes to look up at her mother. "Did you see him, mommy? Did you _see_ him?"

The woman's face was impassive, and she wore a hard expression with pursed lips and squinted eyes. She certainly _had_ seen him, although the expression about her was not nearly as thrilled as her young daughter's. "Yes I did," she said flatly. She glanced down at the little girl tugging at the arm of her coat and pulled slightly away with a scolding look. "That's a _bad_ robot, Mindy. No good can ever come out of them."

Mindy's expression dropped immediately. The vibrant glimmer that shone in her eyes died at her mothers words not out of fear, but out of sadness. Slowly, the little girl dropped her head in dejected disappointment. "Oh."

Applause broke out amongst the crowd again. Grappler must have preformed some other trick, but it was already over by the time Zapper turned his head to look. A sharp whine resonated beside him and the maroon mech glanced down at its source. Mars was looking up at him expectantly, wagging his tail to and fro so that it swished the snow covering the asphalt like a sweeper. The black German Sheppard had been given to him as a gift from Grappler when he was just a rescued puppy. At the time, Grappler had been working as an ASC coordinator and occasionally posing for a few vain magazine covers promoting the RRC. It had been before Commander Sazabi was rescued and while the Axis Survivor Colony was still a half finished shantytown. Grappler and Zapper shared a single bedroom hut at the time, but Grappler's constant absences often left Zapper on his own. Grappler _originally_ intended to get him a smaller dog as a makeshift companion for the times he was not home, but the scraggly puppy had been listed for euthanasia the same day and ended up escaping from his pen as the veterinarian tried to pull him out. He ran into Grappler Gouf not three seconds later and jumped straight into his arms. Whether or not it was a sheer stroke of luck or fate mattered little, because Grappler ended dragging the ball of fur home regardless of how big the shelter workers told him that the dog would get. Later that night, he shoved the puppy into Zapper's arms - complete with a bow tied around his neck for good measure - and told him that his only set rule for Zapper was that it had to sleep on the floor. That particular arrangement did not last very long - Mars _still_ slept with them on the bed, actually - although Grappler had long since dismissed it. The huge German Sheppard had long since filled out into a massive dog that stood a solid foot taller than Zapper Zaku on his hind legs. He was entirely black with the exception of a white splotch on his right shoulder. Now the German Sheppard was tilting his head from side to side before occasionally looking down to paw expectantly at Zapper's foot.

A voice purred next to him. "Hey, good looking."

Mars barked gleefully in reply, and Zapper Zaku snapped his head to glare accusingly at the mech who had popped up beside him. Leaning over the barrier from inside the skating rink was Grappler Gouf. Exactly when he managed to find the time to migrate over, Zapper Zaku had no idea. The cobalt squadron leader was eyeing him with his head cocked - it was a mirror reflection of what Mars had been doing just moments earlier - and his mouthpiece twisted into a playful smirk. Zapper scoffed and grinned at him. "You look like you're having fun."

"Not nearly as much fun as _you_ could be having. I still don't see why you opted out," Grappler said. He leaned further over the barrier and reached out toward him with his left hand. The younger mech's dagger claws lightly traced over the wool of his black scarf, and Zapper Zaku could clearly see how they glimmered in the artificial fluorescent lights cast down onto the rink. "Sayla really did a great job making these. Yours came out great."

Zapper Zaku laughed lightly. It came out as a hoarse chuckle. All of Sayla's close friends and family had gotten a scarf from her after she found out she was pregnant in the beginning of December. As a sort of announcement present, she sat down for an entire week straight crocheting scarves for everyone. Surprisingly, even members of the Dark Axis had been on that list. "So did yours, showoff," he said. He lazily gestured out toward the ice. "It would be embarrassing for me to be on the ice with you. I'd make a fool of myself out there compared to you. Where did you lean to pull off moves like _that?_"

Grappler Gouf cackled. In an offhand manner, he unconsciously reached his claws up to touch his own scarf. It was a blood red color, accenting his armor decals nicely. "The officer academy. It's no different from fighting, but you glide instead of running."

"You drew quite the crowd."

Grappler's optic flashed and he glanced around in legitimate surprise. It was amazing, Zapper thought, how the younger mech who was usually so observant could become so distracted. Grappler Gouf really _hadn't_ realized he had drawn a crowd - he probably never even realized he was being applauded too, for that matter - and he blinked in befuddlement. "Really? I honestly didn't even notice."

"That's because you're an idiot," Zapper said primly.

Grappler spared him a sideways glint of disgruntlement. Zapper grinned at him in retaliation, and Grappler's mouthpiece twisted into a smirk in reply. That was how things were with them, nowadays. They had been rivals early on in their careers as Dark Axis squadron leaders after working together briefly in Lacroa - Grappler Gouf had been stationed on the _Black Musai_, Zapper Zaku on the _Magna Musai_ - when Commander Nightingale asked Commander Sazabi to help her destroy the last of the dimension's resistance. They got along decently enough in the beginning of their time working together, but their clashing personalities eventually rubbed off on one another the wrong way. The two of them getting captured by humans, a giant bagubagu rampage, and Grappler getting an axe to the face later, the two of them absolutely despised one another. With Lacroa completely conquered and the invasion complete, the two of them went their separate ways and did not see one another again for three stellar cycles… that had been around the time General Zeong assigned Commander Sazabi to invade Neotopia. After two miserably failed missions, Sazabi sent out a notice to Professor Gerbera requesting that Grappler Gouf be forcibly reassigned to serve on his ship as backup. Professor Gerbera approved, and in spite of Commander Nightingale's protests, Grappler was transferred from the _Shadow Musai_ - Commander Nightingale's new flagship in the wake of the Lacroa takeover - to the _Magna Musai_.

Those first few weeks had been… interesting.

The two of them bickered relentlessly as soon as they were thrust to work together, although the hatred they once felt at the end of the Lacroa incident was no longer there. In fact, Zapper honestly did not _mind_ Grappler's company… and that was something that deeply scared him. He was familiar with only two kinds of affection - his fatherly protectiveness over the Zakos and the feelings he once felt for a long since dead femme named Bottlecap back when he was a grunt Zako himself. What he was starting to feel toward Grappler was like how he felt for Bottlecap when he first met her, except the feeling was ten times _stronger_. It bothered the maroon squadron leader so deeply that he made it his personal mission to argue and fight with Grappler as frequently as possible no matter _how_ many times Commander Sazabi chewed him out for his behavior later. It was maddeningly _frustrating_ for Zapper to convince himself that he loathed Grappler while he was falling head over heels in love with him. The worst part was that Grappler never deterred his behavior in any way. Zapper knew that Grappler could tell what he was feeling, but not once did the younger squadron leader call his elder counterpart out on it. In fact, Grappler went as far as to drag Zapper into his quarters for an argument before he had the older mech pinned against the wall with his hand gripping the other mech's crotch. That was the first and last time they interfaced before finally becoming mates.

It was after a freak mission where Zapper was run through the chest with Zero's buster sword - he would have died if Grappler had not taken charge of the emergency surgery they preformed in the _Magna Musai_ to save his life - that Grappler finally popped the question. It had been just scarcely after Zapper Zaku regained consciousness for the first time in nearly three solar cycles. Grappler had been at his bedside the entire time, and he had been so wracked with guilt over his partner's near death experience that he finally confessed that he had been prying for Zapper's affections ever since they were reunited. It was as romantically clichéd of a scene as it could possibly be… except for the part when Zapper nearly passed out from airflow deprivation. That had been when he removed his oxygen mask to mash their mouthpieces together in a heated kiss. As soon as Zapper Zaku was well enough to walk on his own again, Grappler moved into Zapper's quarters and the two of them bonded that same night. They still fought with one another regularly, although their arguments were often staged to prevent suspicion. Even years later, the chemistry still managed to stay in their relationship all the same.

"It takes one to know one," Grappler shot back in reference to Zapper's previous insult. The smirk was still prying at his mouthpiece.

Out of the corner of his vision, Zapper Zaku could see the little girl with her mother in the petticoat. The small human girl was blonde with long, wavy pigtails hanging daintily on either side of her head. Her face was framed with rosy cheeks and a red nose from the cold air brushing against her skin. Zapper Zaku was _still_ getting used to the fact that the humans were not as hateful or scornful as they used to be towards Axians, although he managed to find her wide eyed expression amusing nevertheless. She was looking straight at Grappler in awe at how close he was to her, but the mother's expression was unimpressed by comparison. In fact, the elder woman seemed to be looking at the cobalt squadron leader with venomous discontent.

_Don't look now_, Zapper said jokingly through the bondlink, _but I think you have fangirl._

_Oh Pitt, not _another_ one_,Grappler immediately replied. He kept a straight face, but Zapper could feel his mate's sudden nervousness explode all throughout him. His claws twitched uneasily. _She's not going to pounce on me like the last one, is she? Scale of one to ten._

_Nine, but she's a bit small to jump the fence_, Zapper mentally laughed. In an attempt to cure Grappler of his sudden bout of anxiety, he telepathically caressed their link. _See the little girl to my left? She's been watching you skate the entire time. I bet it would make her day if you talked to her._

At this prompt, Grappler fleetingly glanced in the direction Zapper had mentioned. The pink glow of his optic quickly passed over the little girl - Mindy - where she stood watching him behind the rink fence, and the she immediately shied away at the realization that she had been spotted, ducking her face bashfully into her mother's petticoat. The mother appeared even more apprehensive than her daughter, although aggressively so. Her squared shoulders drew upward in a defensive posture and she looked about ready to flee on a moment's notice. Through the bondlink, Grappler Gouf was cackling to himself with playfully malicious glee. _The older one doesn't look too happy to see me._

_Her bark is worse than her bite_, Zapper grinned in reply.

Without further adieu, Grappler smirked back and silently pushed away from the rink wall. He moved out slightly onto the ice and preformed a miniature figure eight in a leisurely backward glide. The little girl's face dropped as she glanced up and saw him moving further away. The mother looked relived in stark comparison, but the relief turned to dread when Grappler suddenly pivoted backward and brought himself up right alongside the rink where the girl and her mother were standing. Meanwhile, the little girl's face lit up with adoration and - despite how her mother reached a hand out to snatch her back - she leaned forward to get a closer look at the passing Axian. Her eyes went wide with terrified, enthralled awe as he stopped next to the wall and casually leaned against it to start up a conversation with her. "Hey there kiddo," he said with a broad smile. He had changed the tone of his voice from his usually snappishly witty manner of speaking to something of a much kinder, softer variety. "Do you and your mom want to come out on the ice with the rest of the SDG and I? I don't think Mayor Sayla would mind."

The little girl's face lit up like a Christmas tree, but the mother still looked suspiciously scornful. She said nothing. Meanwhile, out on the ice, movement caught Zapper Zaku's optic and he turned his head to look in the direction of the new commotion. He was suddenly met with the comical sight of Captain and Madnug laboriously pushing a stiff Sazabi across the ice. The rigid commander absolutely _refused_ to move, leaving the two smaller Gundams struggling behind him to push him along. How they managed to get him to leave the rink entrance, Zapper could only imagine.

Over the bondlink, Grappler's voice chimed in. _Hey Zipper?_

Zapper Zaku was _very_ tempted not to respond to his insulting nickname, but the quiet tone of Grappler Gouf's voice made him reconsider. _Yeah?_

At first, Grappler did not reply. When Zapper looked back in his mate's direction, he could see that Grappler was leaning over the fence having a conversation with Mindy. She had gotten over her shyness and was now feverishly talking to the other mech about how she wanted to skate as well as he could someday. In the meantime, the mother seemed much more at peace and less defensive, actually letting Grappler Gouf carry out a fully blown conversation with her daughter. The cobalt mech was grinning down at Mindy and giving her kindly praising advice, but his mental state did not reflect his outwardly appearance. _Did you ever think about wanting to have kids someday?_

At this, the _Zako Zako Hour_ hosts skated by. Blue looked much more balanced and Red and Yellow no longer had to hold him by the arms to keep him from toppling over. All three of them were hollering happily about something, but Zapper Zaku felt far too distracted to listen in on their conversation. He blinked stupidly and his mind reeled. _Well… yeah, I guess so. I never really gave it much thought. You?_

It _was_ physically possible for mechs to carry newsparks, although it was a dangerous practice that frequently led to the deaths of both the unfortunate parent and unborn sparkling. Back when the Dark Axis consisted of mostly mechs, it was for that reason that the femmebots had been created - they could carry sparklings and birth them much more safely. Over the bond, Zapper felt Grappler shrug. _I've been thinking about it for awhile now. Did you know Madnug is with spark?_

_Say _what_?_ Zapper felt his optic flash in surprise.

_Yeah_, Grappler replied with a sheepish mental grin. _They're not sure how they slipped up to let it happen, but Madnug was hell bent on keeping it. Stalemate is afraid that it might kill him, byt Kao Lyn and Bellwood are working to make sure they both survive. Neotopia has better medical technology than the Dark Axis did, so there's a very good chance that everything will turn out alright. I wouldn't mind giving it a shot myself. Besides, we already know that you would make an awesome father. Oh, don't tell them that I told you. Sazabi would throttle me._

At this, a group of Zakos went by. They waved to Zapper - "_Heya, Zapper Sempai!_" - and continued on their merry way. Zapper Zaku waved back to them out of courtesy, although every gear in his body felt frozen. You're serious?

_Well, _duh_. Commander Sazabi used to zap us all the time with his funnels, remember? He has a bit of a temper._

_Not _that_, you dummy_, Zapper snapped back. _You really want to have a sparkling with me as the father? You want to risk your _life_ carrying something like that?_

With Mindy and her mother, he had extended his clawed hand out to the little girl while she examined the appendage in childish awe. The mother was warning Mindy to be careful not to accidentally cut herself, although it was obvious that the mother had entirely accepted Grappler now that she understood he was not going to hurt her daughter. Over the bondlink, Grappler Gouf scoffed with minor irritableness. _So long as it's with you, I would be willing to do anything. Besides, I can make it worth you while._

With that, Grappler sent him a very, _very_ provocative mental image. It took every ounce of willpower on Zapper's part not to let his legs not give out from underneath him. He leaned further against the rink wall and forced his internal cooling system to kick into gear. Everything felt far too hot for his liking all of a sudden and he had to loosen his scarf from around his neck. Just as quickly as it had come, the image was gone and it left Zapper Zaku breathless and cursing under his breath. _I guessing that this is an offer I can't refuse, then._

"We can talk about it more later," Grappler said out loud.

Zapper jumped in place. He quickly turned his head and was met with the sight of his bondmate's face as Gouf stood leaning over the side of the rink fence. The cobalt mech was smiling devilishly at him. "What happened to the kid?" Zapper asked with a quirk of his optical lens.

"Mindy is going around to the other side with her mother to get skates. I'm going to meet them at the entrance to let them in," he said with a grin. "The mother actually wasn't that bad once she warmed up to me. Are you sure you don't want to come in, too?"

"Naw. You gave me a lot to think about," Zapper replied with a halfhearted shrug. "I'm trying to imagine what our Pitt spawned demon sparkling would act like."

Grappler laughed at that. He ducked his head to the side, sniggered, and reached his clawed hand up to touch Zapper's shoulder gently. "No worse than you."

"Look who's talking," Zapper shot back, although he barely had the time to suppress the smirk that tugged at his mouthpiece temptingly.

Grappler Gouf looked back up at him with a similar expression, but the shining glow in his optic held a much different look. Electricity sparked between the two of them, and Grappler slowly leaned forward and brushed his mouthpiece against Zapper's teasingly. Warm air teased his vents and it took every ounce of willpower in him to not melt into the heat. Grappler detected his hesitation and grinned, reaching a hand forward to tug on Zapper's scary and pull him into a full kiss. Their mouthpieces mashed against one another and the younger squadron leader assaulted his older counterpart with scalding warmth hot enough that Zapper could feel the heat in the back of his throat and moving down into his chest. His engine hitched and his spark skittered in his chassis.

Mars - who had been surprisingly silent the entire time - suddenly jumped up and wormed his nose between them, lapping a long tongue out to lick right up the side of Grappler's face. The Axian let go of Zapper and pulled his face back in surprise. Zapper immediately felt his spark whirl hotly in protest to the loss of contact, although he could barely help himself at the sight of Mars trying to lean over the edge of the rink barrier to lap at the younger mech's face. Grappler raised a hand to block him and laughed despite himself. "Mars! Mars, _heel_ already! _Quit it!_"

The German Sheppard then turned his attentions to Zapper. He cranked his head to look over his shoulder, caught sight of his master, and immediately launched himself to assault Zapper's face with sloppy kisses. Zapper staggered slightly as the huge dog - easily towering over him - placed his paws between Zapper's shoulder spikes and planted a series of long, wet laps across his face and head. Zapper managed to shove the dumb brute off him and roughly scratched the top of his head.

Grappler drew closer again, wrapping a free arm around Zapper's shoulder and pulling him close. Through their bondlink, his mental voice dropped to a purr. _All I want for Christmas is you._

Zapper Zaku, for the record, thought the feeling was mutual. At least the holiday did not feel so weird to him anymore.

**Fin**


End file.
